


Finally

by ThirdGenerationRockette



Category: The Newsroom (US TV)
Genre: 2.09, Election Night, F/M, the morning after
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-02-16
Packaged: 2019-03-19 14:16:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13706175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThirdGenerationRockette/pseuds/ThirdGenerationRockette
Summary: Between the meetings about the law suit, the slew of related news stories coming at them, and the Election Night debrief, Mackenzie has barely had a moment to think, to breathe, so it's after the two o'clock rundown by the time she finally makes it into her office and sits down, and the first email waiting for her makes her groan.





	Finally

Between the meetings about the law suit, the slew of related news stories coming at them, and the Election Night debrief, Mackenzie has barely had a moment to think, to breathe, so it's after the two o'clock rundown by the time she finally makes it into her office and sits down, and the first email waiting for her makes her groan.

It's from her sister, with a subject line that simply reads WHAT. THE. FUCK??!!, and a message that says "Tell me this isn't about you?!" along with a link to a story on blindgossip.com which Mackenzie tentatively opens.

_This cable anchor, whose network has seen its share of problems lately, spent at least some of election night scoring a fiancée. A fiancée who hopefully is much more careful now sending emails (and staying faithful) than she once was...'_

"Shit, shit, shit." She reads the piece again before scrolling down to the comments, hoping to find nothing, but groaning when the first handful she sees all read WILL MCAVOY! One follows up with _'and his producer, whatever her name is, the dumb slut who cheated on him first time round, good luck with that, McAvoy!'_

Hitting reply, she sends a quick email back to Harriet that simply reads 'Affirmative', knowing as she hits send what a reaction that will cause, and waiting for her phone to ring...which it does, precisely eleven seconds later.

"Are you fucking serious?" A familiar voice all but yells down the phone at her.

"Hey, Harry." Mackenzie smiles. "I feel like we need to talk about your website choices."

"Do not fuck around with me, Mackenzie Morgan McHale, I'm serious." Harriet lowers her voice, albeit only slightly. "You're engaged? Since when? I didn't even know you guys were back together! Last I heard, Will was doing whatever the fuck he was doing with that gossip columnist. How could you not tell me, Trip? Jesus, I-"

"Oh my God, Harry." She stops her sister in full flow. "Would you please take a damn breath?"

"Alright, okay." Harriet seems to be attempting to compose herself. "I have some questions, and you're going to answer them."

"Am I really?" She bites her lip, amused by Harriet's bluster, as she so often is when it isn't annoying the hell out of her.

"Yeah, you fucking are." Harriet sighs. "First off, you're _engaged_?"

"I am." She confirms. "To Will, just like noneofyourfuckingbusiness.com says."

"Holy fuck." Harriet goes quiet for a second before she carries on. "When did this happen? I mean, when did he ask you? I'm assuming he asked you, maybe you asked him, whatever."

"Last night, and yes, he asked me." She starts to scroll through her other emails while she talks.

"How long have you been back together?" Harriet asks. "Wait, shit, are you pregnant? Is that what this is? You're knocked up!"

"No," she says quickly, firmly. "I am absolutely, definitely _not_ pregnant."

"Okay, so, what the hell?" Harriet pauses, but barely. "Hang on, I saw you, like, a month ago and you didn't say anything. On top of that, you were fucking miserable...wait, there's no way you were back together then. Trip, did this come totally out of nowhere?"

"Actually yes, completely, if I’m honest." She laughs at how crazy it sounds to hear it aloud. "It was here at work, during the broadcast which, before you start yelling, is why we haven't told anyone yet. We were a little busy with covering the election last night."

"Yeah, right!" Harriet snorts down the phone. "I'm sure the election kept the two of you busy all night."

"Fair enough." She takes her sister's point. "Let's just say when we did finally get out of the studio, the first thing I thought to do wasn't to start calling everyone, okay?"

"Hey, no judgement here," Harriet says, and Mackenzie knows she's smirking at the other end of the phone. "Fuck though, sis, it's been what, five years? How was it?"

"It's been _four_ years, Harry, the same way elections always are," she says. "And I'm sure you're aware that Obama was re-elected."

"You little shit." Harriet laughs. "You know what I meant."

"I know." Glancing up at the door, she pauses for a second. "It was...I don't even know what to say, it was amazing, just, it was, God, it was everything I could have imagined."

"Somebody has a little sex-brain this morning." Harriet teases. "Damn, Trip, that endorphin crash is going to hit you like a truck!"

"Well then, I'll just have to get my levels topped up again, won't I?" She smiles, thinking about a repeat of last night.

"You get it, girl!" Harriet laughs.

"Look, I'm not avoiding this, Harry, but I have so much to do here, I really do need to get back to work." She moves from her emails to the pile of papers on her desk. "Can we talk properly later?"

"Sure, yeah." Harriet answers. "This is going to sound like a dumb fucking question, but you're happy, right?"

"Not a dumb question, all things considered." She smiles again, a little wider, thinking about the whirlwind of the last twenty four hours. "But yeah, I'm stupid happy, I promise."

"Then good," Harriet says, pausing. "I'm so excited for you, Trip…I’m guessing you haven't told anyone else yet? Mom and Dad, or-"

"No, I haven't." She stops her. "You won't say anything, will you? I really wanted to tell all of you properly, I didn't think it would get out this fast."

"Nope," Harriet says. "Your secret's safe with me." "Thanks, Harry," she says, relieved.

"Don't hold off too long though, huh? It's not going to take long for this to get picked up," Harriet says.

"I know." She sighs but she knows Harriet is right. "I'll call them in a while, when things calm down a bit."

"Okay, cool. You know, I'm really happy for you, just, fuck, finally." Harriet tells her. "Send me a photo of the ring too. I'm guessing it's so damn huge you can barely lift your hand?"

"Harry..." She is about to protest but another glance at her hand reminds her not to bother trying.

"I knew it!" Harriet laughs down the phone and Mackenzie shakes her head. "I'll let you get back to work. Tell Will I said it's about damn time, okay?"

"I’ll tell him you said congratulations, yes." She grins as she reaches for her highlighter to start on the reports in front of her. "Talk to you later."

"Wait!" Harriet speaks just as Mackenzie is about to hang up. "Send me a photo of the ring."

"Now?" she asks, sighing.

"Yes now," Harriet answers. "Come on, Trip, this has been a long time coming, I want to see it." "I will," she says. "I promise I'll send one just as soon as I-"

"Just take it now." Harriet cuts her off. "Send it while I'm talking to you, so I can see it." 

"Oh my god!" She sighs. "Hold on, for crying out loud."

Taking a quick photo, she sends it quickly and goes back to the call. "Okay, it should be with-"

"Holy fucking cow!" Harriet all but screams down the phone, to the point where Mackenzie has to hold it away from her ear. "It's like he bought all the diamonds in the world and asked them to just make them into one really fucking huge one, like he-"

"Harry." She stops her. "I love you but you're just screeching at me now, and I really do need to go. I'll talk to you later."

She doesn't wait for a response before she hangs up and turns back to the email, hitting forward and sending the message to Will. Smiling, she turns back to her paperwork and wonders just how long before he appears in her doorway.

Four minutes, is the answer. By which time, Mackenzie has clicked on the link again (probably foolishly, she knows) and is mired deep in the comments. They don’t really bother her, although she would take offence in general to being called a ‘dumb slut’ but actually, in the context of cheating on Will, it’s nothing worse than the names she called herself. She is well aware that her self-worth most definitely won’t be validated in the comments section of a gossip site, but she also knows Will is going to be more bothered by this than she is.

“First off,” he says, leaning against the door frame. “Your sister’s internet choices are… questionable.”

“I know,” she says. “I told her the same thing.”

“More importantly." He sighs and steps inside the door, closing it behind him. “Who the fuck do I get in touch with to shut this shit down?”

“I don’t think it works quite like that." She smiles at him, but his frown is firmly in place. “It’s the internet, Will. People can, and will, say what they like.”

“I don’t give a shit what they say about me,” he says, stepping closer to her desk. “But I'm not going to stand by and do fucking nothing while people are saying those things about you.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” she says, trying to diffuse his growing temper. “I have quite the growing fan club, I think.”

“This doesn’t make you furious?” he asks, dropping himself into the seat opposite her. “I don’t care,” she says, shrugging. “I really don’t.”

“Shit." He stands up again and throws open the door. “Neal!”

“What are you doing?” she asks, eyebrows raised as Neal appears in the doorway.

“Show him.” Will nods at her and turns to Neal. “Look at the screen, tell me how long it will take you to take this website down…offsite, offline, whatever you call it.”

“Um...” Neal walks around to look at Mackenzie’s screen. “This isn’t an ACN site.” 

“No shit.” Will grumbles. “So?”

“So, I can’t take websites down that aren’t ours,” Neal says, glancing between his two bosses. “I mean-“

“Wikipedia,” Will says. “Any fool and his dog can edit that, right?”

“Yeah, but that’s a totally different thing,” Neal replies, patient in the face of Will’s increasing irritation. “You wouldn’t want someone from outside being able to take down pages from the ACN website, right?”

“Me?” Will throws his arms in the air. “I really wouldn't give a shit-"

“Okay, the company, the people who do give a...who _do_ care.” Neal pauses. “They really wouldn’t want pages from our website able to be taken down by just anyone, so no, it doesn’t work that way.”

“Are you telling me there isn’t a damn thing you can do about this bullshit?” Will asks. “Is that what you’re telling me?”

“Will.” Mackenzie steps in at Neal’s pleading look. “It isn’t Neal’s job to right all the wrongs of the internet.”

“Well, it should be,” he says, glaring at Neal. “It should be someone’s job.”

“Can I…?” Neal gestures towards the door, and Mackenzie nods, biting back a smile as he scurries from the room.

“You really don’t care?” Will’s voice softens as he looks at her. “You don’t care what they’re saying?”

“I don’t care what a whole heap of people I don’t know say about me, no,” she says, firmly. “I care what you say, and a little bit what that bunch out there say, but strangers on the internet? Could not care less.”

“Then I should calm the hell down, shouldn’t I?” He runs a hand through his hair and lets out a heavy sigh.

“Might be an idea," she says, pausing for a second. “I am a little worried one of the other more widely read gossip sites might pick it up, and I really would like my parents to hear it from me rather than from a Google alert, but-“

“Call them,” he says, glancing at the clock. “You’re right, they should hear it from you. And then we should probably talk to Charlie, see what he thinks about putting out some kind of press release or statement-“

“Do you really think we need to do that?” She hears the note of protest in her own voice and sighs. “Surely once we’ve told our families, it doesn’t matter if people just find out whenever and however the hell they find out?”

“I just thought…” He sits back down and reaches across the desk to take her hand. “If you don’t want people to know, until you’ve…I don’t know, gotten used to the idea-"

“It’s not that." She stops him, frowning at the worried expression on his face. “Billy, that’s not it. Did it seem last night, or this morning, that I needed to get used to the idea?”

“No." He shakes his head, smirking slightly. “No, it didn’t, but-“

“But _nothing_ ,” she says. “The only thing that might take some getting used to is the weight of this ring, you might even need to buy me one for the other hand to even things out, but the idea? I’m very used to that, so if you think we should talk to Charlie then let’s talk to Charlie.”

“You’re sure?” he asks, the frown lifting slowly from his face.

“I’m sure, about all of it.” She beams at him, squeezing his fingers. “But first, I’d like to call my parents.”

*

They call her parents, Mackenzie having to stifle her laughter when her mother is stunned into uncharacteristic silence, finally regaining her composure and wishing them enthusiastic congratulations but warning her daughter that she has many, many questions. They call her two other sisters, and her brother, and then Will's siblings, before eventually looking across the desk at each other and grinning.

"Done?" she asks. "Done." He nods.

"All the important people know now, so can we just..." She stops, torn between thinking a statement is probably a good idea since they will okay it, decide how much to say, but equally leaning towards saying nothing, keeping this just their news for now.

"You know, I'm not going to push, if you really don't want to," he says. "I just think a statement we've approved is a better option than some...gossip columnist or other breaking this."

"Do you still have a hotline to a certain gossip columnist? Maybe she'd like the scoop." She stops and looks down guiltily. "I'm sorry, shit, I didn't mean that, I know you're not..."

"It's okay." He says nothing more for a second, waiting until she looks back at him. "And no, Mac, I haven't talked to her in...months."

"I know that," she says, reaching across the desk for his hand. "I do, it's just that this time yesterday, I still thought you hated me, so it might take a little while for that to stop being my knee-jerk reaction. It doesn't mean anything, it's just going to take a bit of time, okay?"

"Okay." He keeps hold of her hand, his fingers sliding slowly through hers. "Will you do something for me?"

"Of course." She nods. "Anything."

"Just...say stuff like that." He pauses for a few seconds. "When there's something bothering you, don't bite your tongue, just say it. I want to get this right, Mackenzie, I’m _going_ to get this right, and I know we need to talk, so that's what I want us to do. About everything, even the shitty stuff, and...you do know there's nothing that's going to change how I feel about you, right?"

"I know, and I promise talking, lots of talking," she says quietly, dropping his hand and standing up to walk around the desk. "Alright, let's go and see Charlie, find out what he thinks."

Charlie is sitting at his desk, gazing distractedly out of the window when they walk in, having been told by Millie to go right in. He turns and grins at the two of them, jumping up and heading for his stash of scotch, not asking if they want any, just automatically pouring three glasses.

"How's everyone holding up down there?" he asks, looking at Mackenzie, a frown on his face.

"They're okay," she says, with a sigh. "We called them in this morning, told them the suit had been filed, but that Rebecca is going to be working hard to bring this to the best possible conclusion, and that the best thing they can do is just keep working, same as always."

"Good." Charlie nods. "That's good. And how are you two? You must be exhausted. Last night was quite a night."

"Yeah, it was." Mackenzie smiles and glances at Will. "But we're okay. I mean, there's been a lot going on downstairs today, but yeah, it's fine."

"Glad to hear it." Charlie pauses to take a drink. "So, did you just come up here to chit chat about how busy you are, or was there something you needed to see me about?"

"I got an email a little while ago pointing me in the direction of a gossip website," Mackenzie says. "One of those really trashy ones, you know? Anyway, there was a mention of Will and I getting engaged last night and-"

"Holy shit." Charlie stops her. "Already?"

"This site is beyond trashy, Charlie." Will speaks up. "It posts these dumb little anonymous stories and then a bunch of assholes have to guess who they're talking about. It's bullshit, total bullshit, and-"

"Hold on." Charlie holds up a hand to stop Will's impending rant. "Something was posted on a gossip site that may or may not be about the two of you-"

"Oh, it's definitely about us." Mackenzie cuts in. "And the last I looked, there were almost seventy comments, all guessing quite correctly."

"And the fucking comments, Charlie." Will starts again. "Seriously, if these people weren't anonymous I'd find them and rip them all new ones for what they're saying-"

"They're barely saying anything at all." Mackenzie stops him, sighing loudly. "I've told you, Will, I really don't care. Now, Charlie, what we came up for was to ask what you think about putting out a statement, nothing long winded or elaborate, just a couple of lines so that if it starts getting picked up elsewhere then we already have a handle on it."

"That's what you want to do?" he asks, seeming to sense her reluctance.

"I don't know." She admits, pausing for a second. "Will thinks it might be a good idea, and I suppose it would be better than whatever the hell Page Six might run."

"Page Six will run whatever the fuck they want anyway, Mac." Charlie smiles at her kindly. "You know that as well as I do."

"Yeah, I guess." She shrugs. "So are you saying we shouldn't bother?"

"What I'm saying is, statement or not." he pauses as he tops up his glass. "It won't stop Page Six dragging up whatever they want, but yeah, I don't think it could hurt to put something out. Something brief, right to the point."

"Alright." She wraps her arms tightly around herself and Will takes a step closer. 

"Mac, if you really don't want to." He starts to speak but she shakes her head. 

"No," she says. "You're right, I think it would make more sense, I just..." 

"What?" Will asks, gently.

"It's stupid." She smiles at him. "I thought we'd get more than a day of having it just be our news, that's all. It doesn't matter, I know, I'm being an idiot."

"You're not an idiot," Charlie says, glancing at Will. "If anyone in this room is an idiot, it sure as shit isn't you."

"I feel like that was directed at me," Will says, smirking at Charlie. "But I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt."

"You should, I’m nice." Charlie nods. "Look, you can draft something, I can draft something, or we can just go right to PR and tell them what we need. What do you think?"

"PR are going to want the final sign-off, aren't they?" Mackenzie asks, knowing the answer.

"Yeah." Charlie answers. "But I do have some influence, so how about you tell me what you'd like to say, I'll run it by them and we'll go from there?"

"Oh, I don't know," Mackenzie says. "Some shit along the lines of 'ACN is thrilled to announce that Will McAvoy has bagged a fiancée, a pretty hot, really fucking accomplished fiancée who he will marry in June-"

"June?" Will interrupts, his eyebrows raised.

"I've always wanted to be a June bride, Billy, you know that," she says, pausing. "That's a discussion for later though, for now we need to focus on this-"

"We may not need to worry." Charlie steps in, his phone in hand.

"Damn it." Mackenzie looks down at her own phone, at the alerts coming in which she assumes are the same as Charlie's. "Well, alright then, I guess it's out there."

Judging by the Google alerts she quickly skims through, it would seem that the Post has it, the Daily News has it, and there's a snarky mention on Gawker, but actually, nothing too awful from what she can tell.

"Maybe some kind of two liner, about how ACN confirms the engagement, wishes them all the best, blah blah?" Will says, looking at Mackenzie. "What do you think?"

"Yeah." She nods. "I don't suppose it really matters now, it's out there anyway, but yeah, something short and sweet is fine."

*

The statement goes out, it's fine, they're both happy with it, a couple of other places pick it up, and they receive a stack of congratulations and well wishes from various people across the networks and within the industry. Mackenzie spends the remainder of the day feeling oddly unsettled, opening each new email with an edge of dread, only to feel an instant and all-encompassing relief when it's nothing to do with the engagement. She can't pinpoint why the news being out there is rattling her the way it is, and she needs to shake it because this is what she has to get used to now, to being half of a couple in whom the media and the public (or a section of the public at least, she knows Will isn't quite Brian Williams) will have an interest, a _curiosity_. It isn't Will's fault, it isn't anyone's fault...although if she finds out which motherfucker on Dayside leaked the story to Blind Gossip, she's going to make sure heads are rolling like snowballs down there.

The show is the usual post-Election broadcast. A wrap up of everything from the previous night, summaries, various guests talking about how they see the next four years going. It's a smooth show, and things in the control room feel the same as ever, the only difference being the feel of the diamond on her finger when she slips her headset on, and the excited flip her stomach does when Will's voice pops into her ear. He looks tired, she feels tired, it was late, _early_ , by the time they left to head to her place last night and it was a long time after they got there before they slept. She had been buzzed on champagne, he had caught up slightly after the broadcast ended and when they had stumbled through her door, he had kissed her again and hadn't stopped until she was moaning under him some time later.

"Mac." His voice startles her and she snaps her gaze back up to the monitor. "Earth to Mackenzie."

"Sorry, yeah." She smiles, knowing he can hear when she is. "I'm here, just drifted for a second." 

"Seven more minutes, we can do this." He grins into the camera at her.

"Yeah, we can." She sighs slightly and he raises his eyebrows. "I'm fine, Billy. Ten seconds back."

She watches him remove his earpiece, open his jacket, and loosen his tie slightly before he stands and stretches, rolling his shoulders back and his head from side to side. The rest of the control room has emptied out by the time he walks in, and Mackenzie is removing her headset and walking towards the door.

"Good show." She smiles at him as he heads over to her.

"I looked like hell," he says as he reaches for her and pulls her towards him. "I think hair and make-up probably need a raise just for making me fit for purpose tonight."

"You looked like a guy who sat front and centre for an Election broadcast, and then went home and did wonderful things to his fiancée." She laughs and slides her arms around him, resting her head against his chest and closing her eyes. "We're done for tonight though, we can go home."

"Ah." He pulls back to look at her. "I promised we'd go for a drink with everyone."

"Tonight?" She's aware she's pouting, but she's tired and she knows he must be too. "Does it have to be tonight?"

"I know." He pauses to kiss the top of her head and she feels her pout lift slightly. "I'm fucking exhausted too, but I think they want to celebrate...let us know they're happy for us."

"I _was_ thinking we could definitely do some more celebrating." She looks up at him and smiles, running her hands slowly up and down his back. "But I was thinking it might involve neither of us wearing any clothes, your head between my legs, my hands in your hair-"

"Jesus, Mac." He sighs, _groans_ almost. "That is a way, way better option...but I promised we'd drop in."

"Maybe tomorrow would be better..." she says, but her resistance is slipping, knowing what the team has been through, the things they've seen between her and Will. If they want to share how happy they are, she won’t be the one to disappoint them. "Oh, alright, just a couple of drinks though, okay?"

"Yeah." He nods and gives her a faint smile. "Just a couple, I promise. I'll get changed and then I'll come find you."

The bullpen is empty as she heads for her office and she wonders for a second if Will has got things wrong, if maybe everyone is as tired as she is and if they've all actually gone home to get some well earned sleep. As the two of them walk into Hang Chews, she questions it again, because there's no sign of any of the team.

"Are you sure they said they were coming for a drink tonight?" She turns to him, puzzled at the slight smirk on his face. "What's going on?"

He says nothing and she sees him look at Chelsea behind the bar who nods and gestures to the back of the room. His hand squeezes hers tighter as he leads her from the bar, away from the usual dark corners the staff can be found in when they're here. Pushing through the door that leads to a back room, one she knows about but has never been inside, he steps in and pulls her with him. Everyone is there, the whole team, there are cocktails laid out on a table, with what looks like a hastily made 'Congratulations!' banner hanging above it, and when Don and Maggie step aside, she spots a huge cake.

There are grins on everyone's faces and as Jim steps forward to hand them some drinks, she turns to Will, eyes narrowed.

"You knew about this," she says. "That's why you were so insistent we come over here rather than heading straight home."

"Yeah." He shrugs but she sees the smile threatening his lips. "They wanted it to be a surprise but then Maggie told Jim she didn't think I was a surprise party kind of guy, or actually, an _any_ party kind of guy-"

"I can't imagine where she got that idea from at all." She smiles at him and turns back to Jim. "This is really sweet, Jim, seriously."

"It was Maggie's idea, really," he says, smiling. "I mean, she mentioned it and then Tess and Tamara ran with it, and I just...peer pressure, you know."

"Right." She grins at him and steps forward, placing a quick kiss on his cheek and laughing as he blushes. "Thanks."

She's two Cosmos down when Maggie stands up and announces that she and Will should cut the cake, possibly, Mackenzie suspects, because nobody has eaten dinner and hell, cake is better than nothing.

"So, we had to turn this around pretty quickly," Maggie says, as they stand up. "And when we ordered it this morning, we didn't think that by tonight people would know already, so we didn't want to give anything away by having your names put on it, and, yeah..."

They follow her over to the table housing the cake and Mackenzie snorts when she sees it, white frosting, tiny red fondant hearts around the outside, and in the middle, in huge blue lettering 'CONGRATULATIONS...FINALLY!'

"Funny," Will says, a hint of amusement cutting through his grumbling tone. "Real funny." 

"It is _pretty_ funny." She nudges his shoulder and he smiles at her. “Mostly because it's true.”

"Alright," she says, picking up the knife. "Let's do this."

She feels slightly fuzzy as she finishes her third Cosmo and reaches for more cake, carefully peeling off the red fondant hearts and lining them up on her plate.

"Seven hearts, Billy, look." She grins at him and rests a hand on his. "Because I met you seven years ago."

"How many more do you think are left on that cake?" he asks, looking at the cake, frowning and then looking back at her.

"I don't know." She pauses, briefly considers counting them but gives up. "Why?"

"Do you think there are sixty?" He looks at the cake, seems to consider the same thing briefly before he too shrugs and turns to her. "Because then we could have one for every year we're going to be together from now."

"Sixty? I think we'll be so, so very dead by then." She smiles at him and strokes her hand across his. "But I like your line of thinking."

"Do you want another drink?" he asks, smiling back at her, watching as she eats the first of her seven fondant hearts.

"Nope, I'm done," she says, pausing to finish chewing before a thought hits her. "Oh, I just realised that everybody knows now! My family, your family, the whole of broadcast media, and anyone who gets their news from gossip sites. And you know what else?"

"What?" He grins at her and reaches for more cake from the plate in front of them.

"This means Nina knows too." She stops, nods to confirm her thought, and carries on. "She'll know that she may have won a battle or two but this war is mine, this ring is on my finger."

"Honey..." He pauses for a second. "She was never-"

"We're getting married!" She stops him, not wanting to get into a conversation about Nina, even though she was the one who mentioned her.

"We are. In June, apparently." He raises his eyebrows.

"June would be so nice." She sighs and picks up one of the fondant hearts, holding it out to him. "Here, you can have 2006."

"Good year," he says, dipping his head and scooping the fondant out of her hand with his tongue, grinning when she giggles.

"I've had three Cosmos," she says, pointing at the empty glass in front of her. "And two pieces of cake."

"How many elephants can you fit in a Ferrari?” He frowns slightly. 

“What?” She laughs at the confusion on his face.

“I thought it was some kind of riddle,” he says with a shrug.

"No." She smiles and shifts closer to him. "And here’s another thing that isn’t a riddle...I'd quite like to go home now and take off all my clothes. Do you have an opinion on that idea?"

"I have nothing but praise for ideas like that." His hand slides under the table and squeezes her knee gently.

"I like praise." She shrugs and leans in, kissing him and smiling against his mouth as she feels his hand move higher up her leg.

"Good." He pulls back slightly and smiles at her. "Because I plan to spend hours praising you when we get out of here."

"Suddenly I'm not so tired anymore," she says, pulling him up by the hand, pausing as she realises something. "Oh, but you don't have a change clothes with you, and neither do I."

"It's fine." He squeezes her hand and starts to move. "I'll just swing by my place in the morning before work, grab a shower and get changed."

"At least when Page Six have you sneaking out of some woman's apartment at seven in the morning, I'll know whose it is." She grins at him and drags him over to where Jim and Maggie are sitting, smiling at both of them. "We're going to head out, but thank you for this, it was so lovely."

"You're leaving?" Maggie looks surprised and glances at Jim, looking much less so. "I mean, of course, I guess you want to get to bed. To sleep, I mean, after last night. The coverage last night, I mean. I just meant it was a long night and -"

"Dear God, please stop talking." Jim cuts in and Mackenzie laughs. 

"Goodnight," she says, smiling at both of them. "We'll see you in the morning."

They climb into a taxi and Mackenzie is about to give her address when Will speaks first and gives his.

"I'll run in, grab some things for the next few days," he says, in response to her raised eyebrows. "I'll be in and out in five minutes, and it means we can stay in bed a little longer in the morning."

"Sold," she says, sitting back and closing her eyes as the car starts to move. "I'm awake, I'm just too tired to open my eyes. I think those cocktails were stronger than I realised."

She feels him take hold of her hand and she leans in to rest against him, smiling and letting out a sigh when he shifts to put his arm around her, pulling her closer. God, she's tired, even more so than last night when she was so completely fuelled by a combination of elation, disbelief and absolute joy that she barely felt the exhaustion that had been plaguing her for weeks. Tonight she still has the joy, but the disbelief has gone, and suddenly she feels like she could sleep for weeks.

Her eyes open when the car comes to a stop and his arm moves gently from her shoulder.

"I'll be five minutes, tops, if you want to just wait here?" He smiles at her and she tries to bite back a yawn.

"Yeah, I will," she says, smiling as he opens the door and reaching into her bag for her phone.

"I know him from the TV, right?" The driver looks in his mirror and she meets his eyes. "He's a news guy...McAvoy, yeah? First name escapes me."

"Will," she answers, turning her attention back to her phone and replying quickly to a message from Harriet. She knows it's late but her sister sleeps even less than she does so she's not worried about waking her. "Will McAvoy."

"I read about him today, I think, someplace or other," the driver goes on and she smiles politely at him.

"You may have done, yeah." She nods and says nothing more, but he doesn't seem to be quite finished.

"Hold on, dude got engaged, right?!" He turns this time and looks at her properly, rather than just in the mirror. "I'm guessing to you?"

"Yeah." She smiles at him. "To me."

"Congratulations!" He says, pausing for just a second and grinning at her. "Guy did good...if you don't mind me saying."

"I don't mind at all," she says, grinning back. "Say it again when he gets back in the car if you like."

*

"Undo me, Billy." She sighs and turns to him as he comes out of the bathroom. "My fingers are too tired for these buttons."

She watches as he starts to slowly open her shirt, his face a picture of concentration, reminding her as he fumbles with the buttons slightly that he was probably at least one drink ahead of her all evening. Biting her lip, she laughs as he opens the final button and pushes the shirt down off her shoulders, grinning triumphantly.

"This is nice," he says, running his finger slowly across the black lace of her bra.

"The bra." She grins as he slides one of the straps down and leans in to kiss her shoulder. "Or the boobs?"

"Both." His lips move lower and she sighs as his tongue traces her nipple through the fabric. 

"Both boobs?" She threads her fingers through his hair and feels him smile against her skin. 

"Yeah." Lifting his head, he grins up at her. "I've missed them."

"They've missed you too," she says with a soft giggle.

Pulling him up to her, she kisses him, slowly, softly, almost sloppily, because she's ridiculously tired and she knows he is too. She has a feeling tonight is not going to end up in the way she thought it would before they finished off seven Cosmos between them...but it's fine, because she still gets to curl up with him, sleep beside him, and hell, she can have him for breakfast in the morning.

"You taste like toothpaste," she murmurs against his lips. "Nice." 

"Mmm..." He pulls back enough to look into her eyes.

"I'm exhausted." She pauses, watching him blinking slowly, his eyes sliding slightly out of focus. "And so are you."

"Yeah." He nods and sighs faintly, his eyes following her as she stands up and peels off the rest of her clothes before reaching for his hand and waiting as he stands up.

"Get undressed," she says quietly, smiling at him. "You can't fall asleep in your clothes. I'm going to the bathroom."

She brushes her teeth, takes off her make-up, combs her hair, and uses the toilet, probably nothing that takes more than five minutes in total, but when she walks back into her bedroom he's dozing already. Wearing a t-shirt and boxers, having managing to undress at least, he's half under the covers, half on top but he has managed to stay mostly on one side of the bed.

Throwing her underwear into the hamper, she pulls a t-shirt over her head and slides into bed next to him and moves close enough that she can feel his warm breath on her neck. He shifts slightly and she manoeuvres herself under his arm to nestle against him, running her finger slowly down his chest.

"You were going to do things to me tonight," he mumbles. "And my head was supposed to end up between your legs..."

"Give me your hand." She reaches for him and pulls his hand under her t-shirt, watching his eyes flicker open as his fingers brush against her bare abdomen and she covers his hand with her own, pushing it lower down her body. "What I have between my legs will still be there in the morning…get some sleep, and wake me up with your tongue tomorrow."

"I like the sound of that," he slurs, sliding his hand towards her hip and pulling her against him.

"I love you." She closes her eyes and smiles into his neck. She's become so used to feeling tired and somewhat hopeless, but she likes this feeling much more; tired and happy, yeah, she can get used to this.


End file.
